— contends August 2012 Linden Agreement being honoured

VETERAN trade unionist, Lincoln Lewis, has said that the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government has made no positive effort to have the August 2012 Linden Agreement honoured and implemented, but Region 10 Chairman Renis Morian said Lewis is ill-informed.

The August 2012 Agreement was signed between central Government and the Regional Democratic Council, Region 10, after a month-long unrest over a proposed hike in electricity tariffs in the mining town of Linden that year.
The agreement, which brought an end to the unrest which claimed the lives of three and resulted in several buildings being burnt to the ground, included three primary elements: the development of an economic plan for the region; examination and development of an energy plan; and the return of the television dish 14 days after its signing.

“It would take nothing of the Government to establish the Economic Committee to carry out a study and develop a plan for Region 10 as President Granger talks about developing flags and emblems in recognition of each region,” Lewis said in a letter penned to the editor.
But Morian, in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Saturday, said it is clear that the trade unionist has failed to inform himself of the progress being made in Region 10, in particular Linden.

The regional chairman said contrary to the statements made by Lewis, there is an Economic Committee in place with a Five-Year Plan of Action already being executed.
Morian pointed out that through the Economic Committee, investors are being drawn to the region with the intention of transforming the economic landscape of the region while simultaneously creating jobs across sectors.
“Currently, we are in discussion with three investors who are all planning to establish bitumen plants in the region, and of that three, two of them want to set up stone-crushing plants here,” the regional chairman explained.

He noted that one of the investors, Metallica, is already operating in Guyana, while another one is in the process of drafting its business plan. The investors are seeking to capitalise on major road projects that will be executed in the region, in particular the Linden to Lethem Road project which is expected to commence soon,with the UK agreeing to fund the project.
The first phase of the project covers approximately 122.5km of road from Linden to Mabura Hill and the construction of a bridge across the Essequibo River at Kurupukari.
This phase is being funded by the Government of the United Kingdom through the UK Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (UKCIF) programme and is currently in the design stage.

In addition to the establishment of the fixed bitumen plants, the investors, according to Morian, are planning to have mobile plants as well, along with generators.
“When you are building a road 10 or more miles from a plant, the mobile plant can go to where the actual work is and all three of them are looking at having their generators to support their mobile operations,” he explained.
Additionally, the regional chairman said the region has been making its youth work ready. It was explained that in 2016, a Work Readiness Programme was launched after it was realised that though the region’s youths may have qualifications, many of them lack working experience. This year, the programme is expected to be expanded.

Through the programme, he said youths are finding employment and others have moved onto the University of Guyana and other education institutions while gaining much-needed experience.
A new RDC office and an ongoing Disaster Risk Management Programme also form part of the action plan. The region has also engaged the Public Infrastructure Ministry to have the local airstrip rehabilitated. An engineer has already visited the site, and local aircraft owners are currently being engaged on this new development.